Tuesday, 31 December 2013

Fact
is, I am now in Norfolk getting ready for the New Year Birds. A few
hours 'scouting around' in appalling weather conditions and consulting
various Rare Bird Sites (via my mate John Gifford) are proving there is
not the normal quantity or quality on the ground here this year! Good
news is that the wind direction remains from the south and while it is a
little chillier than Dorset, we don't have that piercing, blast
directly from the Ice Cap

Slip inside the eye of your mind

Don't you know you might find
A better place to play
You said that you'd never been
but all the things that you've seen
Will slowly fade away

Where do the years go? Another one gone as quickly as that, so time to reflect on what has been another GREAT ONE for me!

One of the function of a Ship's Bell is to indicate time and is stuck in sequence during each 'watch' as per the table below.

Number of bells

Middle
watch

Morning
watch

Forenoon
watch

Afternoon
watch

1st
dog
watch

Last dog
watch

First
watch

One bell

0:30

4:30

8:30

12:30

16:30

18:30†

20:30

Two bells

1:00

5:00

9:00

13:00

17:00

19:00†

21:00

Three bells

1:30

5:30

9:30

13:30

17:30

19:30†

21:30

Four bells

2:00

6:00

10:00

14:00

18:00

22:00

Five bells

2:30

6:30

10:30

14:30

18:30

22:30

Six bells

3:00

7:00

11:00

15:00

19:00

23:00

Seven bells

3:30

7:30

11:30

15:30

19:30

23:30

Eight bells

4:00

8:00

12:00‡

16:00

20:00

0:00

At
midnight on New Year's Eve sixteen bells would be struck – eight bells
for the old year and eight bells for the new. At the sounding of 16
Bells at the turn of this year we were in an approximate position of
17° 50' 00" North and 69° 30' 00" West close to the south west coast of
the Dominican Republic onboard the small Cruise Ship M/V Voyager. New
Years Day at sea made life just that little bit easier for all concerned
as passengers could not get ashore containing all celebrations within
the vessel. Our first port of call the following day was Santo Domingo,
capital of DR from where we progressed onward to Jamaica, Mexico,
Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia and finally in that first month
to Panama. There were 3 main thrusts to this journey for me, one to
cross the Atlantic Ocean and transit the Panama Canal (2 things that
eluded me during nearly 50 years at sea) and to visit the final few
countries of the Americas I had not yet seen. The first of these had
already been fulfilled during the 'old year' so probably not
surprisingly the favoured images for January were of the

GUTAN LOCKS leading into the

PANAMA CANAL

and the bird of that period the 'endemic'

HISPANIOLAN WOODPECKER

By the
beginning of FEBRUARY I had left the Voyager and started my solo journey
in Georgetown the capital of Guyana. Highlights there were getting rid
of the

SANTA CLAUS Face Hair,

enjoying the city, especially the Botanical Gardens where the

Bird of the Month was seen the 'near' endemic

BLOOD-COLORED WOODPECKER

From
there it was overland, and river, into Suriname with some delays
getting out of the country as I had not acquired the correct
documentation for that country. Resolved, I met my Guide

By
MARCH the travels had taken me to the diverse French Guyana where such
interesting sites as the International Space Station and Devil's Island
(the backdrop for Papillion) were visited. However, more than this it
was 2 very special people who were the highlight here.

Frenchman Jean Francois

and his beautiful Thai wife Roong

befriended me on the quayside then drove me the 80Km to see

GUYANAN COCK-of-the-ROCK

SCARLET IBISIt was then on to Haiti and to meet

ERNSO JEAN-LOUIS
Proprietor of the Eucalyptus Guest House in Port-au-Prince
his wife Gina, family, staff and friends.

BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER

BROAD-BILLED TODY

After
that I visited the few Caribbean Islands that were outstanding for and
by the time I re-joined Voyager for the passage back to England every
country of the 'Americas' had been seen!By the time I got back
my house was close to Sales Completion, I also sold most of my
possessions and all of the furniture to begin a new life as far away
from Society as I can get. By that I don't mean family and friends, but
away from corrupt politicians (another 'banged-up' this very month),
THIEVING bankers and the like. In additionthe

BRAIDS

had to go having turned into a matted heap!

My
total number of countries visited this year amount to 21 if you count
England, and who wouldn't, 297 new species of bird were added to my
world list and the stroke of luck that was the BRÜNNICH'S GUILLEMOT
added to both GB and Dorset Lists. BEST 'TIL LAST and that has to be
Hugh and Janet Dampney who have been friends indeed since my return. In
addition ALL of their family and friends have also made me so welcome.

A HUGH THANK YOU TO THEM ALL!

So I'll start the revolution from my bed
Cos you said the brains I had went to my head
Step outside 'coz summertime's in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
You ain't ever gonna burn my heart out

Monday, 30 December 2013

By necessity the Post is having to
be a short one today, still problems with the Internet. Since my 2
daughters reached adulthood I have gone as far away from Christmas as I
can. Not a single card was sent and, mainly because of being 'of no
fixed abode', only one was received. It's not an Ebenezer thing, far
from it as I don't have Scrooge tendencies, but don't believe in the
mumbo jumbo and commercialisation that goes with it. To prove the point
these photographs have reached me of

FREDERICK and ALEXANDER

seen here with Daddy BERNARD

in their very first School Uniforms.

You may say Bah Humbug but I prefer giving the practical gift

and don't they just look A Fine Pair?

Otherwise,
all else was the Sheik of Wherever was back, or more correctly his
daughter who, if my sources are correct, has been given Daddies old
Jumbo Jet. No apologies for such a short Post, fact is very little has
happened today and still I prepare for my next trip which will take me
back to familiar territory to the North and East of here.

Sunday, 29 December 2013

PLEASE STAND ADVISED, WE ARE EXPERIENCING SOME SERIOUS INTERNET PROBLEMS AT THE MOMENT WHICH MAY PRECLUDE FUTURE POSTS.

IT IS BEING WORKED ON SO PLEASE TUNE IN

So,
that's Christmas over for another year, rather nice that we got another
one in! A heavy morning frost turned into a bright sunny day, but still
we have been confined to barracks so another case of 'All Our
Yesterdays' again. If there was one regret during my 20 years 'birding'
in the North Sea from the safety of an Oil Rig, it has to be not honing
the skills of video recording and taking much more footage, To name just
one opportunity missed, when from behind the cover of a winch I
observed a Long-eared Owl catch a Purple Sandpiper 'on the wing' and
land just a matter of feet away. Firstly, it decapitated the hapless
Wader before deftly removing both legs and wings before swallowing the
remainder whole. These mainly short clips, taken 120 miles north east of
Aberdeen, may be of interest to Mariner and Land Lubber alike!

Saturday, 28 December 2013

The day started to the tune of
Robin and Blackbird, a fleet of about 2 dozen Fieldfare and with both
wind and rain gone it was pleasantly sunny until noon. That's when the
heavy showers started and have continued throughout the afternoon, with
much more looming to the west. Apart
from anything else most of the day has been given over to preparing for
the next adventure, so thankfully we have the last of the 'three part'
series on Colombia to lean on.

LOS NEVADOS

and more lovely Colombian people

along with diverse vegetation, home of several species of Antpitta.

RUSTY-BREASTED ANTPITTA

BROWN-BANDED ANTPITTA

RUFOUS ANTPITTA

CHESTNUT-CROWNED ANTPITTA

WHITE-CAPPED TANAGER

GREY-BREASTED WOOD-WREN

COMMON POTOO

TANAGER FINCH

BLOSSOMCROWN

FLAME-FACED TANAGER

BLUE-NAPPED CHLOROPHONIA

SANTA MARTA PARAKEET

BLACK-BILLED MOUNTAIN TOUCAN

TORRENT DUCK

BUFFY HUMMINGBIRD

and
finally, just to emphasise the RARITY of the Portland Harbour
BRÜNNICH'S GUILLEMOT we received these statistics from one of our
'dedicated readers':-

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About Me

Born Beeston, Notts 1946, my family moved to Dorset 1959. Joined the Royal Navy age 15 years and 50 days serving 10 years. In frigates firstly then over 5 years in Submarines as a Seaman/Diver, reaching the dizzy heights of Leading Seaman before leaving to join the Merchant Service, working in Ocean Salvage and Harbour Tugs, passenger / cargo ships, trials vessels, etc. Qualified as Mate (Chief Officer) in 1976 and as Master (Captain) in 1978. For my final 20 years of 47 I worked in the Offshore Oil Industry initially on the drilling rig Stena Hunter, then the accommodation barge Borgland Dolphin and finally the Floating Production Platform Buchan Alpha. On the rigs I forged a number of long lasting friendships several of whom shared some of my extensive travels. Setting foot on Caymen, Bermuda, Bahamas and The Azores in March 2013 brought my countries total to 147. The best, undoubtedly, was Antarctica, followed by Australia, Mongolia, Belize, Zimbabwe, China and Madagascar, in no particular order. As for my greatest achievement in life, my 2 beautiful daughters bear witness to that. Love to all our readers, your in my thoughts. Bagsy